West Midlands motorways would become more dangerous with more accidents if the Government pressed ahead with plans to abolish hard shoulders, an inquiry warned this month.

The Department for Transport was urged to scrap plans to turn hard shoulders on motorways, including the M6 , M42 and M1, into ordinary lanes used by vehicles to travel.

The Government's plan, known as "all lane running", is designed to cut congestion on motorways and speed up journey times by adding an extra lane.

The House of Commons Transport Committee produced a report after holding an inquiry when it heard evidence from organisations including the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority, which represents the region's local councils.

Birmingham's tourism economy is in line for another boost after Edgbaston Stadium announced in July it had secured another England test match.

The England & Wales Cricket Board awarded the first match of the Investec Series against the West Indies in August 2017 to the home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club.

It was also confirmed the club would host the NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day for the fifth consecutive year in September 2017, adding to the list of confirmed fixtures including India v Pakistan and England v Australia.

Neil Snowball, chief executive of Warwickshire CCC, said: "With 11 days of major match cricket confirmed, next summer will be the biggest programme of games that Edgbaston has ever hosted."